Why Wasn't I Aware Of This Concert Sooner?

[Seil]

Live Aid

The concert was conceived as a follow-on to another Geldof/Ure project, the successful charity single "Do They Know It's Christmas?", performed by a collection of British and Irish music acts billed as 'Band Aid' and released the previous winter.

The concert grew in scope, as more acts were added on both sides of the Atlantic. As a charity fundraiser, the concert far exceeded its goals: on a television programme in 2001, one of the organisers stated that while initially it had been hoped that Live Aid would raise £1 million with the help of Wembley tickets costing £25.00 each, the final figure was £150 million (approx. $283.6 million). Partly in recognition of the Live Aid effort, Geldof received an honorary knighthood. Music promoter Harvey Goldsmith was also instrumental in bringing the plans of Geldof and Ure to fruition.

So I was in a pawn shop a few Christmas' ago, and I saw a copy of the Live Aid concert - the original, 1985 one - on DVD. Recognizing a few of the artists on the back of the box, I decided to buy it for my dad, a huge fan of live music. I wasn't into most of the artists, but I knew he was. Anyways, my big brother and his family are here for a belated Christmas visit, and I pulled this DVD off of the rack - holy Jesus:

London Wembley Stadium

* Coldstream Guards - "Royal Salute", "God Save the Queen" (W 12:00);
* Status Quo - "Rockin' All Over the World", "Caroline", "Don't Waste My Time" (W 12:02);
* The Style Council - "You're The Best Thing", "Big Boss Groove", "Internationalists", "Walls Come Tumbling Down" (W 12:19);
* The Boomtown Rats - "I Don't Like Mondays", "Drag Me Down", "Rat Trap", "For He's A Jolly Good Fellow" (sung by the audience) (W 12:44);
* Adam Ant - "Vive Le Rock" (W 13:00);
* Ultravox - "Reap the Wild Wind", "Dancing with Tears in My Eyes", "One Small Day", "Vienna" (W 13:16);
* Spandau Ballet - "Only When You Leave", "Virgin", "True" (W 13:47);
* Elvis Costello - "All You Need Is Love" (W 14:07);
* Nik Kershaw - "Wide Boy", "Don Quixote", "The Riddle", "Wouldn't It Be Good" (W 14:22);
* Sade - "Why Can't We Live Together", "Your Love Is King", "Is It A Crime" (W 14:55);
* Sting and Phil Collins (with Branford Marsalis) - "Roxanne", "Driven To Tears", "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)", "Message in a Bottle", "In the Air Tonight", "Long Long Way To Go", "Every Breath You Take" (W 15:18);
* Howard Jones - "Hide and Seek" (W 15:50)
* Bryan Ferry (with Pink Floyd's David Gilmour on guitar) - "Sensation", "Boys And Girls", "Slave To Love", "Jealous Guy" (W 16:07);
* Paul Young - "Do They Know It's Christmas?" (intro), "Come Back And Stay", "That's the Way Love Is" (with Alison Moyet), "Every Time You Go Away" (W 16:38);
* U2 - "Sunday Bloody Sunday", "Bad" (with snippets of "Satellite Of Love", "Ruby Tuesday", "Sympathy for the Devil" and "Walk On The Wild Side") (W 17:20);
* Dire Straits - "Money for Nothing" (with Sting), "Sultans of Swing" (W 18:00);
* Queen (introduced by comedians Mel Smith and Griff Rhys Jones) - "Bohemian Rhapsody"/"Radio Ga Ga", "Hammer to Fall", "Crazy Little Thing Called Love", "We Will Rock You"/"We Are the Champions" (W 18:44);
* David Bowie (with Thomas Dolby on keyboards) - "TVC 15", "Rebel Rebel", "Modern Love", "Heroes" (W 19:22);
* The Who - "My Generation"/"Pinball Wizard", "Love, Reign o'er Me", "Won't Get Fooled Again" (W 20:00);
* Elton John (introduced by Billy Connolly) - "I'm Still Standing", "Bennie and the Jets", "Rocket Man", "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" (with Kiki Dee), "Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me" (with George Michael and backing vocals by Andrew Ridgeley), "Can I Get a Witness" (W 20:50);
* Finale at Wembley Stadium:
a) Freddie Mercury and Brian May (Queen) - "Is This The World We Created?" (W 21:48),
b) Paul McCartney - "Let It Be" (W 21:51),
c) Band Aid (led by Bob Geldof) - "Do They Know It's Christmas?" (W 21:54);

Philadelphia JFK Stadium

* Bernard Watson - "All I Really Want to Do", "Interview" (JFK 13:51);
* Joan Baez (introduced by Jack Nicholson) - "Amazing Grace"/"We Are the World" (JFK 14:02);
* The Hooters - "And We Danced", "All You Zombies" (JFK 14:12);
* The Four Tops - "Shake Me, Wake Me (When It's Over)", "Bernadette", "It's The Same Old Song", "Reach Out I'll Be There", "I Can't Help Myself (Sugar Pie, Honey Bunch)" (JFK 14:33);
* Billy Ocean - "Caribbean Queen", "Loverboy" (JFK 14:45);
* Black Sabbath (introduced by Chevy Chase) - "Children of the Grave", "Iron Man", "Paranoid" (JFK 14:52);
* Run-D.M.C. - "Jam Master Jay", "King Of Rock" (JFK 15:12);
* Rick Springfield - "Love Somebody", "State Of The Heart", "Human Touch" (JFK 15:30);
* REO Speedwagon - "Can't Fight This Feeling", "Roll With The Changes" (JFK 15:47);
* Crosby, Stills and Nash - "Southern Cross", "Teach Your Children", "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" (JFK 16:15);
* Judas Priest - "Living After Midnight", "The Green Manalishi (With The Two-Pronged Crown)", "You've Got Another Thing Comin'" (JFK 16:26);
* Bryan Adams (introduced by Jack Nicholson) - "Kids Wanna Rock", "Summer of '69", "Tears Are Not Enough", "Cuts Like a Knife" (JFK 17:02);
* The Beach Boys (introduced by Marilyn McCoo) - "California Girls", "Help Me, Rhonda", "Wouldn't It Be Nice", "Good Vibrations", "Surfin' USA" (JFK 17:40);
* George Thorogood and the Destroyers - "Who Do You Love" (with Bo Diddley), "The Sky Is Crying", "Madison Blues" (with Albert Collins) (JFK 18:26);
* Simple Minds - "Ghost Dancing", "Don't You (Forget About Me)", "Promised You a Miracle" (JFK 19:07);
* The Pretenders - "Time The Avenger", "Message of Love", "Stop Your Sobbing", "Back on the Chain Gang", "Middle of the Road" (JFK 19:41);
* Santana and Pat Metheny - "Brotherhood", "Primera Invasion", "Open Invitation", "By The Pool"/"Right Now" (JFK 20:21);
* Ashford & Simpson - "Solid", "Reach Out and Touch (Somebody's Hand)" (with Teddy Pendergrass) (JFK 20:57);
* Madonna (introduced by Bette Midler) - "Holiday", "Into the Groove", "Love Makes The World Go Round" (JFK 21:27);
* Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - "American Girl", "The Waiting", "Rebels", "Refugee" (JFK 22:14);
* Kenny Loggins - "Footloose" (JFK 22:30);
* The Cars - "You Might Think", "Drive", "Just What I Needed", "Heartbeat City" (JFK 22:49);
* Neil Young - "Sugar Mountain", "The Needle and the Damage Done", "Helpless", "Nothing Is Perfect", "Powderfinger" (JFK 23:07);
* Power Station - "Murderess", "Get It On" (JFK 23:43);
* Thompson Twins - "Hold Me Now", "Revolution" (with Madonna, Steve Stevens and Nile Rodgers) (JFK 00:21);
* Eric Clapton (with Phil Collins) - "White Room", "She's Waiting", "Layla" (JFK 00:39);
* Phil Collins (having taken Concorde from UK to USA) - "Against All Odds (Take a Look at Me Now)", "In the Air Tonight" (JFK 01:04);
* Led Zeppelin (with Tony Thompson, Paul Martinez, and Phil Collins) - "Rock and Roll", "Whole Lotta Love", "Stairway to Heaven" (JFK 01:10);
* Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young - "Only Love Can Break Your Heart", "Daylight Again"/"Find the Cost of Freedom" (JFK 01:40);
* Duran Duran - "A View to a Kill", "Union of the Snake", "Save a Prayer", "The Reflex" (JFK 01:45);
* Patti LaBelle - "New Attitude", "Imagine", "Forever Young", "Stir It Up", "Over The Rainbow", "Why Can't I Get It Over" (JFK 02:20);
* Hall & Oates (with G. E. Smith of Saturday Night Live fame on guitar) - "Out of Touch", "Maneater", "Get Ready" (with Eddie Kendricks), "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" (with David Ruffin), "The Way You Do the Things You Do", "My Girl" (with Eddie Kendricks and David Ruffin) (JFK 02:50);
* Mick Jagger (with Hall & Oates / Eddie Kendricks / David Ruffin) - "Lonely At The Top", "Just Another Night", "Miss You", "State of Shock"/"It's Only Rock 'n Roll (But I Like It)" (with Tina Turner) (JFK 03:15);
* Finale at JFK Stadium:
a) Bob Dylan, Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood - "Ballad of Hollis Brown", "When the Ship Comes In", Blowin' in the Wind" (JFK 03:39),
b) USA for Africa (led by Lionel Richie) - "We Are the World" (JFK 3:55)

Now that I'm older and wiser, I'm still not into live music, (crowds suck) but I'm getting into Queen, Sting, The Who, Elvis Costello - I still have about seven hours to get through, but oh my god; I wish I knew about these bands earlier.

I guess this is a general music appreciation thread, or a recommend some of the greats to Seil.

P.S. Holy fuck, Queen, the best song that The Who did, there's Layla.
Fucking Layla! Eric Clapton! Roxanne! By Sting!